Will not start

[new_guy]

Hey guys,

So a while back car was running funny. I guess you could say it was sputtering. Seemed like a problem I had in the past so I changed the spark plugs and it sorta helped. Changed the distributor and rotor and it helped alot. Seemed fine but then it sputtered once or twice. And then one night I was driving home at night. Pulled off for a quick 15 min nap. Had car on(wrong I know) and then I went to take off and the car had no power. Didn't matter how much I pushed the gas it wouldn't Rev anymore and after traveling about 20 feet the car died. Wouldn't turn back on. Changed crankshaft position sensor Cuz I saw some people had gone that route but didn't work. Tried jumping fuel relay to make sure pump was going and saw that there was no relay in its place. Never checked before so I honestly don't know if one was ever there but I thought it was weird. When I put the jumper pump didn't go so I changed the pump. Still no good. So now I'm not really sure where to go. I'm not that great. At mechanics. So I have no idea what else to do. Anyone got any ideas?

TIA,
Chris

[BenHar]

What car is it?

Ben

[new_guy]

1989 320i

[Brianmoooore]

I can assure you it has a pump relay! It's a four pin relay living under a cover between the air flow meter/filter and the inner wing, and will have a green/purple wire going to one of the pins.
Where you go next is to determine whether you have sparks from a spark plug laid on top of the rocker cover when the engine is cranked by the key, and also whether petrol comes from the end of the disconnected fuel hose to the engine when the engine is cranked. The fuel feed hose is the one that doesn't go to the fuel pressure regulator.

[new_guy]

Yup. Definitely had fuel come out. Spark on the other hand was a no go. I'd assume it would be pretty obvious but I saw nothing at all. The rotor and distributor are all fresh so would it be the leads?

[BenHar]

This may help: http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... oubleshoot

Ben

[Brianmoooore]

Engine would run happily, if a little lumpy, on three cylinders, so it's very unlikely that three leads have failed at the same time! The spark at a plug only happens once every two turns of the crankshaft, so it's quite possible to miss it.
Check that there's 12 volts between the + terminal on the ignition coil and a good body earth, with the ignition on and when cranking the engine. Best tested with a 12 volt bulb rather than a meter.

[new_guy]

Well I did that test and a few others from the trouble tree Ben posted and the 2 solutions are cam belt or distributor. The distributor hasn't done 100 miles and cam belt not even 1000. But looking in the oil cap you can see the cams spinning when you crank it. So maybe the distributor I bought is faulty?

[martauto]

OK , when you said you changed the distributor , did you mean all of it or just the cap as the first would have been "silly"pricey ??

Mart.

[Brianmoooore]

OK , when you said you changed the distributor , did you mean all of it or just the cap as the first would have been "silly"pricey ??

Mart.

The 'distributor' on a '89 320i IS just the cap (and rotor).

Check that the spring loaded carbon button in the centre of the cap is present and correct.
If this car hasn't run properly since the cap change, are you sure the plug leads, and king lead are connected in the right order.
If the fuel pump runs when the engine is cranked, there are very few causes of no spark.

[new_guy]

I had changed the distributor and rotor Cuz the car seemed to have a misfire. It fixed the problem and the car was running way better. Then after maybe a week or so is when it stopped working. Just died when I went to take off. And after following the trouble tree that's what it's come to as being the problem. Spark plug directly to coil was sparking properly. But spark plug through normal lead isn't. And I tested on three different leads.

[arrisbmw]

well firstly there is no spark plug direct to coil. If you men you removed the king lead from the dizzy cap and got a spark to ground. then removed a plug with lead attached layed on rocker cover and no spark.
your issue must be as brain suggests. carbon centre spring loaded carbon brush in dizzy or dizzy cap (clean all brass connector pins in there with a smal screwdriver ) or the leads themselfs probably not leads as you've tested 3 and 3 can,t break at once.
was it a new dizzy cap and rotor arm.

[new_guy]

Yup that's what I meant with the plug to coil. I Just pulled the cap off. The center piece is there and has spring tension to it. All the brass bits are perfectly clean. The rotor still looks perfectly fine. The leads are definitely plugged where they need to be and securely as I said before I drove it for about a week or so before it died. I just don't get why there's no spark from distributor.

[martauto]

OK , when you said you changed the distributor , did you mean all of it or just the cap as the first would have been "silly"pricey ??

Mart.

The 'distributor' on a '89 320i IS just the cap (and rotor).

Sorry I didnt make myself clear, I was talking about the housing that the cap fastens on to, as in the bit that turns the rotor arm.
I have not seen one before on the six pot cars.

Mart.

[arrisbmw]

how old is the battery ? what voltage does it show after standing for 24 hours ?

[arrisbmw]

have you got continuity in the rotor arm. centre of arm brass contact area to end where it meets the inside contacts on dizzy cap. check with multi meter.
remove rotor arm first.

[BenHar]

Is the rotor arm turning when you crank the engine?

Ben

[new_guy]

Battery is trash. It sat for too long and I don't have a trickle charger. But as far as continuity everything is reading fine. Read 1.8 for rotor. The distributor was reading about 1.8 to each spot and like 15 to the king post. Each lead was about 5k. Rotor wasn't grounding out. Everything was plugged in properly. I don't get why there was no spark of everything is showing fine....and yes the rotor arm was definitely turning when cranking. Is it possible the carbon button isn't contacting like it's too short? It doesn't look damaged and has spring tension.

[arrisbmw]

maybe thats your problem. the battery . get a new one. my car was playing up recently and needed a new battery life is only 4 years or so.

[new_guy]

Idk. The battery was fine when the car stopped working. It's only now that the battery is bad. It's only maybe a year old. I was reading that trouble tree and it says last resort is a dead ecu. So idk. Have to get a new distributor and rotor anyways Cuz they screws got stripped when I pulled it out but I may need a new ecu as well. :/

[Satan]

Borrow a battery and see what happens as batteries can "die" if not looked after.

[new_guy]

Ok. Put in the new distributor and rotor. New dizzy king post was reading about 4 ohms where the old one read 15. Idk if that little bit would really matter. But i placed a plug on rocker cover and definitely saw a spark where I didn't with the old one. Took forever to actually start but it turned on finally. Drove it around and when I would shift I saw rpm drop but didn't really feel it and it drove pretty smooth. So happy it's finally running. Weird how distributor and rotor fixed it tho since they werent that old. Just need a new battery now. ThankS for the help guys! Really appreciate it. Honestly wouldn't have known what to do without that Trouble tree either

[arrisbmw]

if it took ages to start could be your fuel pressure is no good. but thats another issue

[new_guy]

Yeah. Idk what it was about. But it runs smooth now. Heater valve was. Bad so only drove it a week before the coolant was leaking
Now that's all fixed and the car is running perfect. No sputters. No misfires. Starts up right away. Haven't had any issues. Hopefully it stays this way.

[new_guy]

Alright guys. So been driving for a while now. Almost a month. And the car decided to die on me again! Cranks but no start. Kept trying to start it while waiting for tow truck. Seemed the less battery it had the closer it got to starting. What are the odds it's the exact same problem. And if it is. What is could be causing this?

[aimlessrock]

have you checked the fuel pressure?